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Published byMervyn Small Modified over 6 years ago
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The Maine, yellow journalism, and the Spanish-American War
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THE SCANDAL A social studies teacher has strong suspicions that a student named Bob cheated on a test. The social studies teacher plans to investigate the alleged act of cheating by questioning some of the other students in the class. . The social studies teacher has asked the science teacher on his middle school team to help out with the investigation.
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WITNESSES Erin: sits in front of the room. Likes Bob very much.
Katie: sits next to Bob in the back of the room. Sean: sits next to Bob in the back; dislikes Bob greatly. Ryan: sits in the middle of the room.
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Take out a blank piece of paper and map the scene of the “Classroom Cheating Scandal” (i.e. where Bob, Erin, Katie, Sean, and Ryan would have been sitting).
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Think-Pair-Share Work with your partner to analyze the quality of the witnesses or sources. Which ones appear most credible? Which ones appear least credible? Create a list of “good” and “bad” sources for the teachers. Explain why they considered each source “good” or “bad.”
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What would the social studies teacher conclude if he used Sean as his only source of information?
What would the science teacher conclude if he used Erin as his only source of information? Why might two different teachers arrive at two different conclusions about the same event? Can you think of other situations in which two people might [or did] arrive at different conclusions because of a reliance on different sources?
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Transfer Transfer is one of the important aims of education. Transfer refers to the ability to use what one learns in one situation and apply it or solve problems in a new but similar situation. For example, a student who learns to drive a car uses that understanding to drive a truck. Note that a student who can analyze the quality of sources in a hypothetical situation like that presented in “The Cheating Scandal” can provide solid evidence of learning or understanding by transferring that skill successfully to similar investigations or tasks. Ask students if they can think of other examples of transfers.
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Handout #1 Create a list of questions you might ask about any witness or source when faced with the task of deciding which source might be best or most credible. Ex: Was the witness there when the event occurred?
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Why is it important to ask questions of (or interrogate) sources?
Which questions do you think are most important to ask? Can a source that is not useful for one investigation be useful for a different one? Explain and/or give an example.
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3-2-1 3 - List 3 questions you should ask of all sources.
2- List 2 reasons why these questions should be asked. 1 – List 1 thing that might happen if you did not question sources.
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Debrief Do we “know” for certain whether Bob cheated?
What does this activity suggest about what it means to “know” in history when what people are studying what happened in the past? Is any conclusion about what happened OK? Explain.
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REMEMBER THE MAINE
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In 1898 Cuba was still a colony of Spain but its people were trying to break away from Spain just as our original 13 colonies broke away from England in Americans started hearing reports that Cubans were suffering because the Spanish were rounding up civilians and throwing them in detention camps. Over time, Americans began supporting the Cubans in their struggle for independence. In January of 1898, the United States sent the battleship USS Maine to Havana Harbor in Cuba. Some think that the United States sent the USS Maine to protect Americans and their businesses in Cuba. Others think that the United States sent the ship as a way of telling Spain that the United States did not approve of their policies in Cuba and to warn Spain that the United States might use its military to support the Cubans. At 9:40 p.m. on February 15, 1898, an explosion rocked the USS Maine while it was stationed in Havana Harbor, Cuba. Two hundred and sixty six American sailors were killed. Any reason why Cubans might want to blow up the Maine? Any reason why Spaniards might want to blow up the Maine? Any reason why Americans might want to blow up the Maine?
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Resource #6 Have the conclusions about the causes of the explosion on the USS Maine remained the same or changed over time? Explain. Why might there be different explanations of the same event in history? How might one’s use and choice of sources affect his or her conclusions?
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Does it matter when a conclusion is reached e. g. 1898 versus 1998
Does it matter when a conclusion is reached e.g versus 1998? Explain. Are conclusions reached more recently better that those reached earlier? Explain. Do any of the conclusions reached by the 5 investigative bodies seem more persuasive to you? Why? Have any of the investigative conclusions presented on Resource #6 caused you to change your conclusion about the causes of the explosion on the USS Maine? Explain.
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